The UC-Boulder Situation

[EE-BO]

Thank you for posting this article. It seems to indicate that CU is the one who initiated the split. Either way, I presume not recognizing the IFC means they will not recognize any fraternities under the IFC umbrella.

Been there, done that. It doesn't work. Texas tried this in the late 1980s and early 1990s. What you ended up with was an IFC that engaged in blatantly selective enforcement based on which chapters had officers on the IFC council.

Isolated incidents happened before and during this time- and continue to this day. That is not something that University recognition or lack thereof can change.

However, when the University took a hands-off approach and the IFC took over, a very few houses were able to continue in very serious patterns unchecked. All of those houses have been slammed hard since the University reasserted its recognition/authority over the IFC, and things have improved dramatically. And it has not "ruined" Greek life here either.

And to say it again- what about recruitment? How are parents going to feel about fraternities that are not recognized by their son's college? Would you allow your son to join a fraternity not recognized by the college he was attending? Would that not concern you?

I am not saying it means the chapters are all bad- I am sure many good houses will continue on as such under this new rule. But just consider how this looks to students and parents considering the Greek life.

[EE-BO]

PS- How effective do you think the below action by the new IFC President is going to be? If the Greek system was upset by CU imposing rules on rush and parties, how well will the IFC fare? Is this IFC Board composed of CU alums who have the respect and support of local chapters, or are they advisors from other places coming in and "imposing" themselves- which never works...

"To further assist and facilitate our internal inquiry and the police investigation, IFC President Ryan Lynch has made an executive order suspending all fraternity social events involving the presence of alcoholic beverages. The timetable for the alcohol ban is indefinite and highly dependent on the outcome of the ongoing investigation."

[Kevin]

EE:

I think that Colorado's actions to punish the actions of specific groups instead targeted innocent groups. Of the above problems you've cited, there were only a few of the houses out of 15 who had problems, however, all were being punished.

I don't know how effective the new IFC board will be. I have to imagine that the groups' respective IHQs are watching the situation very closely. Without any evidence to the contrary, I can't conclude (as you do) that this arrangement will ultimately be a failure. I do think that eventually, the groups, in exchange for more reasonable terms from the University will resubmit to University control. In light of some of the things the administration was doing regarding Greek Life, I can't imagine I would advise against this IFC move.

[EE-BO]

Originally Posted by ktsnake

I think that Colorado's actions to punish the actions of specific groups instead targeted innocent groups. Of the above problems you've cited, there were only a few of the houses out of 15 who had problems, however, all were being punished.

You and I are in 100% agreement on this point.

My concerns are that the IFC is already making similarly sweeping sanctions and that in my past observations an IFC council makes a good component of a chain of supervision, but a poor absolute authority.

I am glad FratAmerica has pointed this out and I will certainly be keeping watch as things develop. It certainly appears in recent years that Universities have opted to either walk away from Greeks or exert extreme control- and the situation at CU will be watched by many I am sure.

For any reading this, the IFC link ktsnake posted is worth a look. I was surprised to see how small the Greek Community is at UC. It makes the number of incidents look all the more troubling.

And I also noticed there was no mention (not prominent anyway- I did not dig into all the fine print) that the IFC is not a University-recognized organization, yet the association via the web-site title clearly seeks to link the IFC with the University.

Again- if the IFC and Greeks want to be totally independent, then they need to do it in word and deed and remove any implied association with CU...

[Tom Earp]

This has been a situation that has been simmering for long time.

A butting of heads as it were.

The Greeks make asses of themselves, the School doesnt want to recognize them.

When a Chapter is De Chartered, the school buys the houses and either converts them or tears them down.

Many have come and gone, come back and gone again.

So, whose fault is it?

There is no meeting of the minds just grinding each other to see who will win.

Unfortunatly, we all know who loses in the long run.

Better to work together than lose and leave. The School will be there, it is the flag ship of Colorado isnt it?

Now if they go hidden/underground as it were and not activated to a club status of some kind, the school does not recognize them and Greeks cannot use School functions or be envolved as such. It becomes a lose, lose situation.

If some stop and think, all GLO's want to be on the Flag Ship State Schools and as EE-BO said Beta is not there. I would have to check and see if LXA is there again or not.

[jon1856]

Here is an articel dated 7/14/2006 that is also an interesting read:
http://campusfundraiser.com/showuwir...71420061232960

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by jon1856

Here is an articel dated 7/14/2006 that is also an interesting read:
http://campusfundraiser.com/showuwir...71420061232960

The '06 article is interesting. The University wants to impose restrictions on organizations it doesn't 'recognize.' Technically, as far as I know, these unrecognized organizations can do whatever the hell they want to do regardless of what the University's policy is.

The article seems to indicate compliance on the part of the IFC groups. Is there some sort of working understanding between this IFC group, the University, and the respective I/HQ's of these fraternities that the IFC will comply with reasonable terms placed upon them by the University?

[DeltAlum]

Originally Posted by EE-

I am glad FratAmerica has pointed this out and I will certainly be keeping watch as things develop. It certainly appears in recent years that Universities have opted to either walk away from Greeks or exert extreme control- and the situation at CU will be watched by many I am sure.

Let me just repeat that I think we're reading last year's stories here.

I haven't seen or heard anything in the local media about this during the just starting school year.

As a sidebar, this is the anniversary of Samatha Spady's death at Colorado State, so the anniversary of the death of Gordie Bailey at Colorado is only a week or two away.